WOW! This book had me completely mesmerised and once again not getting much housework done on a Saturday afternoon! This third novel from Louise Douglas was quite simply amazing!
Sarah, has just left her husband, finding out that he was having an affair with her best friend following the traumatic experience of having a stillborn baby. To temporarily escape the hurt and devastation that has rocked her life, she takes a holiday with her sister and husband, and meets handsome Alex, father of 6 year old Jamie who has recently found out that his wife and Jamie's Mom Genevieve has left them. Alex and Sarah have a brief encounter one afternoon, and when Alex offers her the job of housekeeper and looking after Jamie while he works, out in the countryside far away from Manchester where she lives, she jumps at the chance, much to the disappointment of her family who think that she's avoiding her issues. Sarah sees this as a way of getting away from the people who have hurt her, and not having constant reminders of her terribly sad ordeal. What Alex hadn't told her was that his wife was a well known and well loved local celebrity and the villagers and her family who were all upset by her disappearance, think that there is a strong possibility that she has been murdered. Even more so, now that he has moved in what they think is his mistress, he is under suspicion and she does not get a warm welcome.
Sarah feels that Alex is holding such a lot back from her, and as she starts to clean the house and get it back to being a lovely home for them, she comes across many discoveries that have even her doubting the integrity of this man who she is becoming growingly involved with. She also feels a deep and eerie presence of Genevieve in the house, seeing and feeling things that don't feel right. Does she continue to defend Alex, or are the discoveries she keeps coming across just confirmation of what he has done?
What a cracking read this was! It was full of drama, suspense and many breath-holding moments. It was exhilarating and exciting. The descriptions of the locations were so well written that you felt that you were there, and were able to touch, smell and feel the places in the book. The mystery behind the story as it unfolded was incredible, with so many twists and turns along the way. The characters were fabulous, they developed well and were easy to relate to. The book was dark and it was deep and it was SO enjoyable and un-put-downable! I am definitely a massive Louise Douglas fan and can't wait to read her other books.
Louise was born in Sheffield but has lived in North Somerset for the past 20 years. She has three beautiful sons, and lives with her partner, who works in construction. She has earned her living through writing for years, firstly as a journalist and, more recently, copywriting for a variety of clients, but had always dreamt of becoming a published author. In 2006, when she decided that her sons didn't need constant attention any more, she decided to bite the bullet and took various courses in fiction-writing and began to write The Love of my Life which was published by Pan Macmillan in January 2009 which was long-listed for the Romantic Novel of the Year Award and the Waverton Good Read award. Her second novel Missing You won the People’s Choice Award in the 2010 Romantic Novelists’ Association Pure Passion Award.
Louise still has her day job, which she thoroughly enjoys, and she has continued to save her fiction-writing for the evenings when the words seem to come more easily. When she's not writing, she enjoys reading, drawing, evening classes, drinking wine, cooking, listening to music and especially walking. You can read about her at her website and you can also follow her on twitter.
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